


Safe With You

by nightlight9



Series: Sterek Week 2019 [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Highlights, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Talking is important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 08:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightlight9/pseuds/nightlight9
Summary: It’s a real shitty thing to think about in the middle of doing his math homework, but that’s when it occurs to Stiles that Derek is all alone. Everyone he loved, and everyone who has ever loved him are dead and gone. Peeking over his shoulder at Derek, Stiles’ stomach sinks. Settled amongst the pillows, he looks so much smaller than Stiles is used too. He swears that he can see bags under Derek’s eyes, and Stiles finds himself worried about how long it’s been since Derek got some actual sleep.-Or the one where Derek is a fugitive hiding out in the Stilinski house, but they actually talk about it.





	Safe With You

Derek's fist curled into the collar of Stiles’ shirt is impossible to dislodge as he shoves him back against his door. Stiles feels his breath leave him in a huff and Derek presses his body in closer, his expression full of a fiery fury. He points at him, puncturing his threat as he says, “If you say one word-.”

Stiles shouldn’t say anything. He should know better by now to keep his mouth shut. But the look on Derek’s face isn’t enough to keep him quiet. “What like, ‘hey dad, Derek Hale’s in my room, bring your gun?’” His arm flairs out to the side, his only outlet for the restless energy making it hard to stand still, and Derek glowers at him. In spite of the situation and the threat, Stiles’ eyes droop down to look at Derek’s lips before meeting his gaze in an unwavering way.

After a moment, Derek drops his hand. His shoulders are relaxing, the only tell that he was actually afraid that Stiles would yell for his father. “Yeah, that’s right. If I’m harboring your fugitive ass, it’s my house,” he punctures that by slapping Derek on the chest with the back of his hand, “my rules, buddy.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Stiles regrets them. He’s in no position to be threatening a werewolf, regardless of whether or not his dad is just downstairs. His breath comes out in a rush as they stare at one another, neither of them giving in, both of them waiting for the other person to make the first move. 

Derek is the one who budges first. He nods, looking a little proud that Stiles actually stood up for himself. Uncurling his fist from his collar and stepping back, Derek fixes Stiles’ shirt. The absurdity of the situation makes Stiles laugh and he reaches out to do the same to Derek’s leather jacket before moving around him to get to his desk. Before he can fully escape though, Derek pushes his face forward into Stiles’ space, startling him. “Oh my Gods,” he mutters, falling over into his desk chair and glaring up at Derek, who has a small smirk curling his lips up. “You couldn’t just let me have that one, could you?”

Derek rolls his eyes, the hint of a smile disappearing as he moves over to Stiles’ bookshelf. “Shut up, Stiles,” he mutters, picking something to read and settling onto the bed with a huff. 

“Shut up, Stiles,” Stiles mimics, watching Derek with a scowl. “Hey, take your shoes off if you’re going to sit on the bed.”

Peering at him over the edge of the book, Derek glares. Stiles doesn’t think that he’s going to listen to him either, but he finally reaches down and undoes his boots, kicking them to the floor. 

Stiles watches him for a moment before he turns back to his computer. There’s so much that he needs to get done. He needs to finish his homework so that he doesn’t fail his classes. He has to come up with a way to convince Danny to help him track the text that Allison got so that he can figure out just who the hell the alpha is. Most importantly he needs to keep his best friend and his dad and probably Derek alive. 

It’s a lot, and he’s not sure he’s managing this whole werewolf thing very well. Actually, fuck that. He is taking this whole thing like a champ. He’s definitely doing a better job dealing with it than Scott is, seeing as Scott is literally fraternizing with the enemy while Stiles is trying to keep him alive. 

And Stiles gets it, he does. Allison is pretty great on her own, and Scott has never liked anyone like he does her. But she’s an Argent. He aunt murdered Derek’s family!

He stops in the middle of the math problem he’s been working through. As absurd as it sounds, Stiles has never actually stopped to think about the fact that all of Derek’s family is dead. Sure, he’s looked up the Hale file, and yeah he actually saw Laura’s body in the grave Derek dug for her. But he’s never stopped to actually _think_ about it. Derek is all alone. Everyone he loves, everyone who has ever loved him, is dead. 

It’s a really shitty thing to think about in the middle of doing math homework. Peeking over his shoulder at Derek, Stiles’ stomach sinks. Derek has slumped over onto his side, curled into himself while he thumbs at the book. Settled amongst the pillows, he looks smaller than Stiles is used too, and there’s something about seeing Derek’s socks that makes him look fragile. He’s probably imagining it, but Stiles swears that he can see bags under Derek’s eyes, and he finds himself worried about when the last time Derek got some actual sleep.

Sensing Stiles’ eyes on him, Derek look up and meets his gaze. The scowl on his face isn’t nearly as intimidating as it was hours ago. “What?” He doesn’t really know how to answer. So he just tilts his head and watches Derek closer. He catalogs the way that Derek’s shoulder bunch up as he tenses, and the way that his eyebrows draw together, an act to hide his unease with anger. “What are you staring at?”

“Why did you come here?”

Derek blinks at him. “What?”

Stiles turns his chair around so that he can look at Derek head on. Even though he hadn’t planned on asking the question, now he needs to know the answer. “Why would you come here to hide out, knowing that my dad is the sheriff? It would be so easy for me to turn you over to him right now. Why would you come here?”

If he hadn’t been watching him so closely, it’s likely that Stiles would have missed the way that Derek shifts uncomfortably on the mattress, avoiding his gaze. “It seemed like a good place to hide.” There’s no inflection in his voice, but it almost comes across like a question. “No one would suspect that I would be in the sheriff’s house.”

“That would be true, if I had known you were hiding here. It was pretty risky on your part to climb through my window and wait for me to stumble upon you, scaring me and alerting my dad.”

Derek swings his legs over to the side of the bed, sitting up. “Just drop it, Stiles.”

He can’t. “And why would you come here instead of going to Scott’s house?”

That makes Derek snort. “Scott hates me. He hates being a werewolf, and even though it’s not my fault he blames me for it. Besides, he’s dating an Argent. The last thing I need is for them to find me.”

It’s a fair point. As much as Stiles would like to protest, everything that Derek said is true. Scott does hate being a werewolf. He does blame Derek for it, at least in part. And he’s made it clear what he thinks about Derek. If he had been asked before, Stiles would have said he agreed with whatever Scott said. Sure, he thought the fact that werewolves were real was super cool, and yeah he was kind of jealous that Scott was the one who got bit instead of him. But it was Scott, and Stiles decided long ago that it was him and Scott against the world, everyone else be dammed. 

He’s not quite sure when that changed for him. 

Maybe it was when Scott refused to listen when Stiles was trying to help him figure everything out. Maybe it changed after Scott continued to ditch him in favor of spending time with Allison, even when their lives were in danger. Don’t get him wrong, he’ll still do whatever it takes to protect Scott, he’s unfailingly loyal like that and a few weeks of being overlooked won’t change it. But-. Well, thinking about it now, Stiles knows without a doubt that he doesn’t hate Derek. And he doesn’t think that he ever has, not really. Sure, he was afraid of him. And yeah, he was definitely suspicious of him. Be he’s never hated him. 

And now, sitting in his bedroom, watching Derek curl around himself in an attempt to make himself look smaller, Stiles realizes that he kind of wants to take care of Derek too. 

That’s a startling thought. Stiles, who has always been one to roll with the punches, doesn’t question it. So as soon as the thought occurs to him, Stiles accepts it and moves on. “I won’t turn you in,” he says, open and honest. “You can stay here as long as you’d like, okay?”

In what Stiles has come to recognize as Derek’s natural reaction to literally everything, the admission makes Derek scowl. “Why?”

Stiles tilts his head up so he can stare at the ceiling. It’s a move that his dad has used when he was trying to gather the strength and sanity to deal with Stiles. “Because, we’re both trying to accomplish the same thing. Because we’re in this together. Because I trust you.”

The words coupled with the unfailing beat of Stiles’ heart make Derek’s eye flash blue. His expression is one of complete confusion and heartbreak. “You trust me?”

He snorts. “Duh. I would have turned you in long ago if I didn’t.”

“But Scott-.”

“Isn’t me.” He sighs, spinning his desk chair in a complete circle while he gathers his thoughts. “Obviously, I don’t know what Scott is dealing with, not completely. The change has been hard on him, and it was never something that he wanted. He doesn’t see it like a gift, and because of that he’s blinded by what’s going on. He may be my best friend, but that doesn’t mean that we have to think the same. I trust you, and I wish that he would too. So…” he doesn’t quite know how to end his speech, and he feels exposed with everything that he’s just admitted. So he nods once and turns back to his math homework, all too aware of the blush burning its way up the back of his neck. He can tell that Derek is still watching him, but he won’t turn back around. 

“It feels safe here,” Derek whispers, interrupting the awkward silence in the room. Stiles freezes. “I needed somewhere to go where I would feel safe, and my instincts led me to you. I don’t-. I hadn’t intended to stop here, and I almost left when I realized where I was, but I could hear you bustling around downstairs and realized that my wolf was right.” He clears his throat. “I trust you too.” The words are awkward and stilted, but Stiles believes them whole heartedly. 

Instead of turning around and beaming at Derek like Stiles wants too, he keeps his focus on his desk, though he’s sure that his scent is all warm satisfaction. “Cool.”

There is silence behind him for a drawn out moment, and then he hears Derek shuffle back into his position on the bed, making himself comfortable again. Stiles does glance over his shoulder at him once more, smiling when he sees how relaxed Derek looks while he reads, before getting back to work solving his math equations. 

He knows that they’ll figure out who the alpha is. He knows that they’ll save Scott and avenge Laura’s death. And, perhaps the most important thing that he knows, is that they’ll do it together. They may not fit perfectly, and it may not make sense, but he trusts Derek and Derek trusts him and for now that’s all that really matters.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for day six of Sterek Week 2019, for the canon highlights prompt.


End file.
